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DUI Murder, Sex Crimes Cases Due Back In Court

Two Santa Clarita Valley court cases — an alleged  murder on the freeway, and another over sex crimes allegations with a former Einstein Academy basketball coach — were continued this week.


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Fatal wrong way crash in Acton

The trial for Bradford Pate, 40, of Burbank, is expected to begin by the end of May, according to officials with the District Attorney’s Office.

The trial for Bradford Pate, 40, of Burbank, is expected to begin by the end of May, according to officials with the District Attorney’s Office.

The trial for Bradford Pate, 40, of Burbank, is expected to begin by the end of May, according to officials with the District Attorney’s Office.

Pate was ordered to stand trial in February on five counts — two counts of murder; two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; one count of DUI causing injury, with a prior conviction; DUI with a blood-alcohol level more than .08 percent, according to court records.

The case is being prosecute by Mykka Piantanida, who said Friday the next court date for Pate would be a pretrial hearing May 6.

Pate is facing a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison if convicted.

Pate was arrested in July 2013, after he allegedly drove a 2006 Toyota Tundra south in northbound lanes, near Escondido Canyon Road, at 3:28 a.m. and collided with a 2006 Chrysler 300. The Chrysler swerved and struck a rideshare van.

The Rev. Manard Giles, a 77-year-old Quartz Hill minister, who drove the 2006 Chrysler 300, died on scene in Saturday’s collision.

Mattie Lee Ferguson, a 60-year-old Lancaster woman who was a passenger in Giles’s car, succumbed to her injuries days later at Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills.

Pate initially was arrested for DUI causing injury. He also sustained major injuries after his truck flipped and was sent to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.

Lennard A. Wilds, 47, of Lancaster, another passenger in Giles’s vehicle, was trapped in the car until rescuers could later free him. He sustained critical injuries, and was airlifted to Henry Mayo.

Juan M. Zamora, 43, of Lancaster, drove the rideshare van, a 2013 Ford Econoline Minor. Zamora was transporting nine passengers to an aerospace work site in Palmdale, likely Plant 42.

Two passengers in the van sustained minor injuries. Efren Arrieta, 27, of Lancaster, and Patrick W. Glesby, 42, of Quartz Hill, was wounded with a cut to left arm.

The other passengers: David G. Moreno, 47, Palmdale; Jose Nario, 22, Palmdale; Javier Cobio, 41, Palmdale; Javier Arrieta, 25, Lancaster; and Alfonso Ramirez, 40, Palmdale were not injured.

Former charter school basketball coach charged with sex crimes

Randy Jackson, 27, of Tujunga, is due back in court May 13 to discuss another date for his preliminary hearing, officials said Friday.

The preliminary hearing is a when a judge reviews the evidence in the case and decides whether there is enough to merit a trial. He pleaded not guilty at a preliminary arraignment in March.

Former Einstein Academy basketball coach Randy Jackson

Former Einstein Academy basketball coach Randy Jackson

Jackson is suspected of molesting five boys between the ages of 13 and 17 at various locations in Los Angeles, the prosecutor said. The complaint alleges the incidents occurred between November 2010 and January 2015.

Jackson took the helm of the Einstein Academy basketball program in 2014, after he was named Coach of the Year for the Omega League by his fellow coaches while he was at Delphi Academy in Lake View Terrace.

A school official said the high school was made aware of the allegations on Friday, Jan. 30, and promptly placed Jackson “on administrative leave with pay until the investigation is resolved,” according to Principal Edward Gika, shortly after the arrest was announced.

Einstein Academy officials have not returned calls regarding an update to Jackson’s status; however, several outlets reported his employment with the school was terminated.

Jackson is charged with eight felony counts, including one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, one count of oral copulation of a person under 16, three counts of attempted oral copulation of a person under 16, sodomy of a person under 16 and two counts of lewd act on a child.

The first count, continuous sexual abuse, allegedly took place from Nov. 1, 2010, to March 10, 2011, according to the complaint. Count 2, oral copulation with a minor, allegedly took place from May 1, 2011, to June 30, 2011, as did the third, fourth and fifth counts, attempted oral copulation. The sixth count, sodomy, allegedly occurred in 2011.

The complaint also alleges a seventh and eighth count of lewd act upon a child occurring between Aug. 1  and Sept. 30 of 2014. Counts nine through 15 allege indecent exposure, reportedly took place around this same time, according to the complaint.

Count 16 and 17 allege child molesting that took place between Aug. 1, 2011, and March 30, 2014, according to the complaint. Count 18 alleged indecent exposure between Oct. 1-31 last year, and count 19 was a count of child molesting that allegedly took place in December. Count 20 pertains to an indecent exposure charge that allegedly took place Jan. 8.

If convicted, he faces more than 30 years in state prison.

He was found in Washington, D.C. after a fugitive warrant was placed for his arrest, according to LAPD officials.

LAPD Detectives with the Sexually Exploited Child Unit’s Juvenile Division investigated allegations from multiple Einstein Academy students, LAPD officials said in January.

LAPD Detectives with the Sexually Exploited Child Unit’s Juvenile Division investigated allegations from multiple Einstein Academy students, LAPD officials said in January.

A school official said the high school was made aware of the allegations on Friday, Jan. 30, and promptly placed Jackson “on administrative leave with pay until the investigation is resolved,” according to Principal Edward Gika the following day.

Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller with the Sex Crimes Division is prosecuting the case.

Jackson is being held in lieu of $840,000 bail.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

DUI Murder, Sex Crimes Cases Due Back In Court

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.